) RosemaryThe Lustrous Minerals of Group 8.
When comparing remedies within any particular group it is important to emphasise that one doesn't lose sight of each and every individual symptom picture of each remedy within the group and its application to individual clients. Each and every one has its own special application within the search for the simillimum - and that is what is important. Having said that, I hope the following is interesting.
The name and number of 'group 8' hardly does justice to the group of minerals that I call the 'lusty' or 'sexy' group of minerals.
In this group we have:-
Ferrum metallicum (iron) - lustrous and volatile, excitable, capacious yet sensitive.
And for our purposes we would have to also take into consideration -
Ferrum aceticum - restless, excess and depletion, lungs and blood
Ferrum arsenicosum - weakness, enlargement and emaciation, spleen and liver
Ferrum bromatum - heaviness and anxiety, uterus and head
Ferrum citricum - anxiety about the future
Ferrum cyanatum - weakness and neurotic, brain and bowels
Ferrum iodatum - debility and bearing down and pushing upwards sensations, glands
Ferrum magneticum - weak and dejected with feelings of self importance, abdomen, skin and muscles
Ferum muriaticum - sexual activity painful, bowels and blood
Ferrum phosphoricum - loquacious or quiet, excitable anger or apathy, circulation and blood
Ferrum sulphuricum - weak and hot, bowels, gallbladder, teeth, muscles
Ferrum tartaricum - sensations of heat, heart and stomach.
And then on to
Osmium metallicum (precious metal) - precious, lustrous and brittle, gives up easily but impatient and morose, frequent erections, thoughts of accidents.
Plutonium metallicum (actinoid, star shaped) - suppressed and explosive energy, feels heavy, disintegration, feels threatened, multiple personalities (like Platina), shape shifting, sexually aggressive or obligated.
Plutonium nitricum - suppressed and buried, sexually aggressive or servile, threat to humanity, threatened relationships.
Naturally, these groups will leak into other groups of minerals, namely Osmium which is part of the platinum precious metals group which includes:-
Platinum (group 10) - excessive sexual desire fused with contempt.
Iridium (group 9) - very heavy but gets carried away by rainbows, romantic, iridescent.
Palladium (group 10) - egotistical, in love with the self, impotence, soft and ductile, used in watch springs.
Common to all these remedies in this group is MOVEMENT of some kind that is characterised by ENERGY, HEAT and EXCITATION or ANXIETY. On the upper level, with Ferrum, this energy is volatile, restless, driven by anxiety and sensitivity until DEPLETION takes over. Then it becomes heavier and we have the uncontrolled and reckless energy of Osmium, refractory but lazy and then heavier still until we come to Plutonium where it is either suppressed and threatening or explosive and disintegrating.
The 'sexual energy' theme in this group of remedies is identifiable via this polarity of energy versus depletion. It becomes a thing of survival and endurance signified by the struggle to continually exist - the survival of the species. In the Ferrum group Scholten calls this PERSEVERANCE. I call it sexual energy because the species cannot survive without this.
Initially, in this group of Ferrum (1), Osmium (2) and Plutonium (3) we have:-
Restless weakness (1) - impatience (2) - oppression (3)
Then
Blood (without which we cannot survive) (1) - preciousness, sexually flaunting but cannot sustain (2) - survival of the species (3)
Then
Problems with self identity, feeling small and the need to assert (1) - confusion (2) - dominating and threatening or die and be buried (3).
FERRUM has a powerful influence on the blood. It causes anaemia and this is where the weakness and sense of depletion come from. This weakness is mingled with excitation, irritability, moroseness and sadness and this compounds into general anxiety. Scholten describes one vital aspect of Ferrum as being that of PERSEVERANCE. It needs to hold on and keep all the excitation together else they will lose it, i.e. become depleted. This is where the 'capacious' level of Ferrum comes into play - expanding with the excitation and depletion with the moroseness and sadness.
Leading rubrics for the emotional and mental aspects of Ferrum would be
Delusion, surroundings seemed large, surroundings are capacious.
Excitation after menses.
Morose after menses.
Irritability from noise, such as crackling of newspaper, drives him to despair. (This is very similar to Asarum and Kali arsenicosum).
Lots of 'Anxiety' and 'Fear' rubrics.
Obstinate.
Oversensitive.
Confusion of mind, motion >>>
Moods alternating - so you will find Ferrum in opposing rubrics such as 'Haughty' and 'Indifference', 'Morose' and 'Laughing immoderately', 'Sadness when alone' and 'Averse to company', 'Tranquility' and 'Excitable' etc.
Lots of 'Restless' rubrics.
With blood in mind, blood that is always on the move, Ferrum is always flushed and yet cold. Ferrum needs this movement but it is better if it is slow movement. Pallor can alternate with flushing, as if there is no blood at all. It is a haemorrhagic remedy. The pulse if full yet soft. Ingestion of food usually stirs up the blood and provides heat and so Ferrum will always have problems with the digestive sphere, and iron is present in so many foods. Limbs cold, head and face hot. Toothache is >>> for icy cold water. Ferrum is a real mixture of heat and cold = energy and depletion.
Other related remedies include Rumex (contains iron); Graphites; Manganun; Cuprum.
OSMIUM is reckless, driven mainly by impatience, but they cannot sustain effort, they quit. This is mainly due to the fact that there is a contiguous nature to the ailments - pains and sensations seem unrelated to the point of origin. It has a special affinity to the eyes, respiratory tract and trachea, the latter being interesting because they tend to scream - the respiratory tract being the organ where this force is expelled. Osmium is also one of the 'smelly' remedies.
Perhaps, because the eyes are involved, their vision of life is distorted and this is why they become reckless and susceptible to accidents. The vision is iridescent, they see rainbow colours (Iridium?). There is Glaucoma, Herpes within the eyes, Conjunctivitis, Photophobia, supra and infra-orbital neuralgia, violent pains in the eyes with lachrymation.
As well as being 'smelly' - urine smells like violets; sweat smells like garlic; belchings smell like radishes; the substance itself has an odour like chlorine (hence the affinity to the respiratory tract); the remedy produces an intolerance of particular odours such as cocoa, coffee and tobacco.
The entire respiratory tract has ailments: pain the trachea and larynx; bronchitis; colds and coughs that are noisy, dry, spasmodic and hard. It can be so violent that it shakes the whole body and they dread having to breathe in and open air <<